Howler Red
by CherrytreesButterfly
Summary: "We'll see what your mother has to say about that." Hannah grinned. "My mother will be fine. It's your grandmother that we should be worried about." Neville blanched.


**Author's Note: **For this prompt, I had quite a few ideas, but I decided that I really wanted to write about a pairing that I don't usually read about. That's not to say there aren't a great number of fics with this pairing, for I am sure there are many, but that I personally don't read fics with that pairing very often. I thought using a pairing I was more unfamiliar with would be an interesting challenge, and it was. I'm quite happy with how this turned out.

**PROMPT:**

Dialogue: "We'll see what your mother has to say about that."

* * *

As they walked out of the Ministry of Magic, Neville turned to his new wife.

"We'll see what your mother has to say about that."

Hannah grinned. "My mother will be fine. It's your grandmother that we should be worried about." Neville blanched and laughed nervously.

"I'm sure she'll just be happy I've gotten married at all. As long as she gets to hold a grand ceremony at some point I don't think she'll make too much of a fuss." Hannah raised an eyebrow and squeezed his hand.

"She'll probably have a bit of a fuss but I'm sure she'll settle down once she's had a chance to scold us." She gave Neville a mischievous smile. The two walked hand in hand back towards the Leaky Cauldron. They could have apparated, but had decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a stroll.

"It seems like everything's happening at once isn't it? I've got a job at Hogwarts and you're the new landlady of the Leaky Cauldron! We've even got our own place!" Hannah laughed at Neville's exuberance. He had certainly changed from the shy, withdrawn boy she used to know.

"It's not going to be too difficult for you to floo back and forth every day will it," she asked nervously. Neville squeezed her hand and pulled her closer.

"You've asked me that at _least_ a dozen times, Hannah. It's not a bother. Besides, it's not like I'm a Head of House or anything. There's no reason why I would need to be at Hogwarts outside of class. Prof- I mean _Minevra_ said I could even have meals with you at home if I want. Merlin, it's weird calling her by her first name," he said, shaking his head.

"Do you think we should visit them soon and tell them about our marriage," Hannah asked, referring to their families. Neville nodded.

"That's probably a good idea. Goodness knows Gran would kill me if I told her via floo or owl, or worse, if we tried to hide it from her. She would probably hear about it through her network anyhow." He shivered at the thought of Augusta Longbottom in one of her famous moods.

That night they had a simple dinner courtesy of the Leaky Cauldron elves. The pair ate in comfortable silence, simply enjoying the food and each other's company.

"We made the right decision, didn't we," Neville asked suddenly. "I didn't rush you into it?" Hannah reached a hand across the table to hold one of his.

"Of course not, Neville. We've been together for a quite a while, and it's not as if this was a spur of the moment decision. We both discussed it and agreed we wanted to be married before we started our jobs. You're not having doubts about this are you?" Neville shook his head as he stroked his thumb across her knuckles.

"Just worrying about what Gran will say." Hannah squeezed his hand. It was their thing, the hand squeezing. A silent sign of comfort, encouragement, and love, all wrapped up in a simple movement.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Nev. She loves you. More importantly, she loves me," she said with a sly grin. Neville gave her a lopsided smile at her attempt to cheer him up.

"You're right. It's just I'm so used to asking her opinion on everything I do..." She squeezed his hand.

"I know."

* * *

The next morning, they were both awoken by the hooting of a large, grey owl which Neville blearily recognized as Rolf, his Gran's personal owl. His eyes were drawn immediately to the bright red envelope clutched in his beak. There was no mistaking the distinct color of a howler and, if he wasn't mistaken, it was beginning to smoke at the edges.

"Oh no," he whispered.

"What is it Nev," Hannah asked blearily as she pulled the blanket over her head to block the morning light.

"My Gran's sent us a howler." Hannah immediately bolted upright. Her blond hair stuck up in all directions, making her look rather adorable, but Neville was too distracted by the smoking howler to notice. At Hannah's urging, he slowly made his way over and grabbed the howler from Rolf. The owl hooted at him reproachfully before flying out the open window. Neville simply held it in his hands for a few moments and stared. The last time he'd gotten one had been before second year. He'd never imagined he would be the recipient of another of his Gran's howlers. He glanced at Hannah who gave him a comforting smile before he took a deep breath and opened it. They both cringed and covered their ears in preparation.

"NEVILLE FRANK LONGBOTTOM, I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU," Augusta's distinct voice boomed from the small letter. "I NEVER IMAGINED YOU WOULD RUN OFF WITH THAT ABBOTT GIRL WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ANYONE." Hannah raised an eyebrow at him at his Gran's address of her as "that Abbott girl". "JUST BECAUSE I GAVE YOU APPROVAL TO COURT HER AND HAVE BEEN HINTING ABOUT GRANDBABIES WAS NOT ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOU TO ELOPE." Neville flushed bright red and avoided Hannah's eyes when his Gran mentioned babies. "I EXPECT THE TWO OF YOU TO COME VISIT ME AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS SO THAT WE MAY BEGIN PLANNING A PROPER WEDDING." There was a moment of silence and Hannah breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the message was over, but Neville remained tense, knowing the howler was not done until it ripped itself up.

"And Neville dear," the howler continued in a quieter and surprisingly gentle tone, "congratulations." Neville stared speechless as the howler tore itself important leaving just a few red scraps behind. Hannah slid out of bed and hugged him, resting her cheek against his chest.

"So what's this I hear about grandbabies," she asked cheekily as Neville spluttered and turned as red as the howler.

* * *

**End note: **That's it! It's pretty short but I'm quite happy with it. Leave a review and tell me what you think!


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